


Embrace: Ghoul - Chapter 3

by thebasement_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Fiction, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-08-19
Updated: 2003-08-19
Packaged: 2018-11-20 07:15:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11331027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebasement_archivist/pseuds/thebasement_archivist
Summary: Chapter Summary:   The puppet becomes the puppet master. Mulder is unknowingly drawn into Skinner's world.  Doggett gets a new assignment.





	Embrace: Ghoul - Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Basement](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Basement), which moved to the AO3 to ensure the stories are always available and so that authors may have complete control of their own works. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Basement's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thebasement/profile).

Embrace: Ghoul - Chapter 3

### Embrace: Ghoul - Chapter 3

#### by Jo B

  


Title: The Embrace: Chapter 3 - Ghoul 

Author: Jo B 

Keywords: M/D, Sk/K non-con slash 

Rating: NC-17 

Category: Crossover, dark, romance, non-con 

Chapter Summary: The puppet becomes the puppet master. Mulder is unknowingly drawn into Skinner's world. Doggett gets a new assignment. 

Spoilers: Yes. This story begins after SR819 in season 6. 

Disclaimer: The X-Files are the property Chris Carter, 1013 productions and Fox Broadcasting. Vampire: The Masquerade is the property of to White Wolf, Publishing. No money is being made from their use. 

Warning! This story contains romance between two men. Turn back now, if the subject matter offends you. 

Double warning! For extreme violence. 

Archive: Okay to archive, just leave my name attached. 

Web site: http://slashingmulder.com/JoB/ 

Author's notes: I have no idea what hospitals would be close to Skinner's apartment so I just made up a fictitious hospital... this is fiction after all. The Arcadia scene has dialog from the actual episode no plagiarism is intended. 

Major thanks to Joey for beta-reading this story. 

* * *

Chapter 3  
The Embrace: Ghoul  
By Jo B 

Hoover Building  
Monday, March 1, 1999  
7:00 a.m. 

Skinner watched the sun rise from the window in his office. The panes of glass in all of his windows, even at his apartment, had been replaced with glass designed to keep out the harmful ultra-violet rays and other destructive elements of sunlight. The windows in the entire FBI Hoover building were being replaced as a renovation project that had been contracted out to Lager construction. Skinner had yet to meet the Brujah elder, Marcus Lager, who owned the construction company along with several other businesses in DC. His sire had warned him about the Brujah's temper so maybe it would be best to stay out of this Kindred's way. 

The task of having the windows in the building replaced would have required approval and funding, Skinner realized his sire had to have some pretty high contacts within the FBI and government. He wondered whom Sirius dealt with, and if that person, or persons had any idea that Sirius was his sire. If they were humans probably not, but if they were Kindred or Ghouls then they had to know. 

Skinner's daily commute shouldn't be a problem, even if James wasn't driving him. Most of the year Skinner arrived at work before the sun rose and left after it set. Only the long summer days might be a problem, but he was a Ventrue, one of the few clans that possess the discipline of fortitude that provided them with a strong resistance to the sun. Once the glass in his car was replaced, he'd be able to drive himself, even in full sunlight, without dispensing too much of his blood energy. 

While it felt good to be back at work, it was also unsettling. His eyesight had improved to the point that colors were more vivid and he could even see the pattern on a fly's wings from across the room. This morning, the few people he passed in the hallway on his way to his office, he saw with the eyes of a predator. Their scent was intoxicating and the loud throbbing of their hearts as it sent blood coursing through their veins made his fangs itch. The change in how he viewed humans surprised and worried him. 

They had given him inquiring looks when he passed them. Skinner didn't think he looked that much different from before, but there were physical indicators to his change. The wrinkles and age spots on his body had faded and smoothed out making him appear younger. 

"Sir, welcome back," Kimberly said as she stepped into the office. 

Skinner smiled. "It's good to be back." 

She paused as she looked at him. "You look well rested...." 

"I feel great. How have things been around here?" 

"A.D. Cassidy has been able to keep up with most of the work." 

"I noticed my in basket was empty." 

"She stayed late on Friday to finish the reports and paperwork. She wanted to leave you with a clean slate to start off your week." 

"That was kind of her." Skinner sat behind his desk. "Anything else I should know about?" 

"The bureau is still reeling from Agent Scully's murder and Agent Fowley's arrest. Gossip about them and their relationships with Agent Mulder has gotten out of hand." 

Skinner looked down at his desk blotter and frowned. "How's Agent Mulder been doing?" 

"Agent Mulder looked tired when I saw him at Agent Scully's funeral. A.D. Kersh had him suspended last week for trying to sneak in to see Agent Fowley." 

Skinner hoped the suspension forced Mulder to get some rest. "Since my basket is empty, I think I'll head down to the basement and see if he's in," Skinner said as he stood. 

* * *

Hoover Building  
Monday, March 1, 1999  
8:00 a.m. 

The weekend in Virginia Beach with John was just what Mulder had needed. He felt relaxed as he walked down a box-filled hallway on the way to his office. Discarded furniture was stacked against one wall. Everything old and unwanted eventually ended up in the basement. He sighed, suddenly feeling melancholy. 

As he approached his office, Mulder noticed that the door was open. He checked his gun before creeping up to the door and peering inside. Skinner stood, with his back to him, looking at office bulletin board. 

Mulder sighed with relief. "Sir?" 

Skinner turned to face him. "Mulder, I just came down to see how you were doing and to tell you how sorry I am about Agent Scully's death." 

Mulder hadn't heard a word Skinner just said; he was too stunned by Skinner's appearance. It looked like his boss had gotten a facelift. That must have been an expensive job because it looked so natural not the tightly pulled skin that others he'd known, who had gotten plastic surgery, had. Well at least that would explain where Skinner had been all month. Mulder had never thought of his boss as being vain about his looks that he'd resort to plastic surgery. Mulder had always found Skinner to be an extremely handsome man but now there was just something extra appealing about him. 

"Is there something wrong, Mulder?" 

Mulder realized he'd been staring. "Ah, no... I was just thinking about how... ah... well rested you look. A month off has done you a world of good." 

Skinner nodded. "It was a long overdue vacation. I'm only sorry that I wasn't able to make it back for Scully's funeral. I do plan to visit her grave sometime this week. How are you holding up?" 

"Fine, sir. I'll admit to feeling responsible...." 

"You had nothing to do with it. How were you to know how unstable Agent Fowley was?" 

"Scully tried to warn me about her, but I refused to listen." 

Skinner walked over to him until they were standing face to face. "Mulder, you weren't in any way responsible is that clear?" 

Mulder gazed deeply into the two pools of melted chocolate and nodded. "I wasn't responsible." 

A small smile stretched across Skinner's lips. "Good. Now do you have an X-File that you're looking into?" 

"No. I'd been too busy with Scully's abduction and murder to open any new cases." 

"I want you to focus on your work. When you find an X-File you'd like to investigate come up to my office and I'll okay the 302 for it." 

"Thank you, sir." 

Skinner squeezed Mulder's shoulder before heading out of the office. 

Mulder looked after him. Then sat behind his desk and started going over the files in his in basket. All thoughts of his dead partner were pushed aside. 

* * *

Skinner took the stairs back up to his floor. He needed time to get his ardor under control. He had noticed the slight rise in Mulder's body heat and the way his Agent's eyes strayed over his body in open admiration. Skinner had smelled the arousal on him. Something he wouldn't have been able to detect before his embrace. He didn't believe Mulder was anything other than straight, and decided that Mulder was only responding to his Ventrue dominate powers. 

Even so, it took all of Skinner's willpower to keep the focus on what was best for Mulder when all that he wanted to do was throw Mulder across the desk and fuck the living daylights out of him. God the man was gorgeous. 

Skinner couldn't remember feeling the blind sort of passion for another human being that Mulder brought out in him. Could his sire and the Prince have been right? Was he in love with Mulder? 

Just looking at the other man had flamed his desires. He longed to run his fingers through the soft silky strands of Mulder's hair, to lick across that delectable mole, and to taste his sweet blood... to possess him body and soul. 

Skinner wasn't sure that he wanted to contemplate what giving into his passions would mean. In his current state, he could only bring Mulder further pain. And that was the last thing he wanted to do. 

So he hurried up to his office to distract himself with mundane work. 

* * *

Crystal City  
Monday, March 1, 1999  
8:00 p.m. 

Krycek had heard that Skinner was back from vacation. So he sat waiting in his car outside of Skinner's apartment building, keeping an eye on the set of windows on the seventeenth floor for any indication that baldy was home. 

He decided it was best to stay away from the FBI. After Scully's murder, he didn't want to be anywhere near the Hoover building on the off chance that he'd run into Mulder. He didn't want Mulder to have even the slightest reason to suspect that he might have been in anyway involved with Scully's death, especially when, for once, he had nothing to do with it. 

He fingered the palm pilot in his jacket's pocket as he watched a limousine pull into the underground parking lot on this side of Skinner's apartment building. On the other side of the building there was another entrance to the building's underground parking ramp. So far he had seen no sign of Skinner's Lexus. Skinner could have driven in on the other side of the building. 

The limousine drove back out of the underground ramp and passed Krycek's car. A few minutes later the lights inside of Skinner's apartment went on. 

"About fucking time," Krycek snarled as he climbed out of his car. He was looking forward to seeing Skinner on his hands and knees apologizing to him while Skinner's veins throbbed and burned from within. 

* * *

Skinner's eyes hardened as he looked at the slashed paintings in the living room. His mother had painted one of them. The painting was an irreplaceable possession and a cherished reminder of his mother who died over ten years ago. The scene was of her backyard gardens, with the stone birdbath Skinner remembered as a boy. The ruined sofa could be easily replaced, but not the painting. 

Krycek that little fucker, when Skinner got his hands on him he'd tear the rat bastard limb for limb. 

He headed upstairs to see if Krycek had destroyed anything else in his apartment. 

While he was frowning at his briefs with their crotches cut out, he heard his front door open downstairs. Skinner didn't wait for the intruder to come upstairs. He left his bedroom and walked downstairs to confront whoever it was, although he had a pretty good idea who it was already. 

Krycek stood in the middle of his living room, holding the palm pilot while smirking at him. 

"You've been a bad boy, Walter. You forgot to ask my permission first before going on vacation." 

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" Skinner said in a deceptively calm voice. 

Krycek pressed the button on the palm pilot and waited. A panic look soon crossed his features when Skinner failed to fall to his knees in pain. As he stabbed madly at the buttons he suddenly found himself hurled across the room. He bounced off a wall and was stunned to find Skinner standing over him. He hadn't even seen Skinner move. 

Skinner snatched the palm pilot out of his hand. "You know what I'm going to do with this, boy?" 

"Fuck." Krycek tried for his gun but Skinner snatched it before he could get it out of its holster. He was roughly rolled on his stomach and his pants yanked down. 

"Don't! Please, Skinner...!" 

Skinner pressed the palm pilot's round corner against Krycek anus. The man was obviously not a virgin but still it took quite a bit of strength and some twisting to force that rectangle object two thirds of the way inside. It was too large to get the entire thing inside even with the blood that had started lubricating it. He yanked Krycek's pants back up and pulled him roughly to his feet. 

Skinner hoped Krycek's shrieks hadn't alarmed any of his neighbors. He dragged Krycek to the front door. The apartments were soundproofed but the amount of noise Krycek had made could have been heard out in the hallway. He dragged Krycek out the door and down to elevator and tossed him, none too gently, inside. He pushed the button for the lobby and quickly stepped out of the elevator before the doors could close. 

He felt his rage subside as he walked back to his apartment. He kept his ears open for any sounds from his neighbor's apartments, but other than Anne Williams who was vacuuming her apartment no one else seemed to be home. 

* * *

Krycek used the elevator rail to pull himself to his feet. He was in extreme pain. His legs trembled. It hurt to move and felt like his hips were close to being dislocated. When the doors opened, he staggered off the elevator, crossed the lobby, walking bull-legged to the main door, and made it outside. He could feel the dampness of blood soaking the back of his pants, and knew he had to get to the hospital. 

Krycek made it across the street and down the block to where his car was parked before he collapsed from shock and blood loss. 

A police cruiser was just turning the corner. The officers inside spotted him lying in the street near the car. They pulled over and both officers climbed out. 

Krycek drifted on the brink of unconsciousness, he groaned as he stared dumbly at a pair of highly polished shoes as the officer squatted next to him. 

"Sir, are you all right?" she asked. Then she noticed the blood on the back of his pants and a strange shape inside the denim. "Clyde, call for an ambulance." 

The other officer ran back to the police car. 

"Hang on, Mister. Help's on the way." 

Her voice was the last thing Krycek heard as darkness claimed him. 

* * *

Skinner stood on his patio and watched the scene taking place seventeen floors below... the flashing lights of the police cars, the ambulance, and the small crowd gathering. 

He wondered if Krycek would survive. At the moment he didn't care either way, although he was beginning to regret shoving the palm pilot up Krycek's ass. The bastard could have had other uses. 

After the ambulance raced off, Skinner walked back inside his apartment and started to clean up the mess. He gently lifted his mother's painting off the wall and carefully placed it on his dining room table. He was going to see if he could find someplace to have it repaired. The other paintings he'd just toss in the trash. 

* * *

Mulder's Apartment  
Tuesday, March 2, 1999  
8:00 p.m. 

Mulder sat on his leather sofa and studied the invitation, turning it over and over in his hand. The paper it was on was fine expensive linen and the lettering had been hand-printed using gold ink. He held it up to his nose and sniffed, it had a spicy rich scent of incense. 

The invitation was from Damien Rainer, inviting him to take part in a forum on the paranormal at the Rainer society. The Rainer society was a well-known think-tank for intellectuals and eccentrics. Mulder had always wanted to check out the society, but they only allowed members onto the private estate grounds. And membership was by invitation only. Now was his chance. 

The forum was this Thursday night. 

John was out of town on field assignment and Mulder didn't expect him back until Friday. So he was free to attend the forum without giving up an evening with John to do so. It seemed like a win win situation to him. 

* * *

Cemetery  
Tuesday, March 2, 1999  
11:00 p.m. 

Skinner squatted beside Scully's grave and placed a dozen pure white roses on top of the freshly laid sod. 

"I'm so sorry, Dana...." He sniffed and wiped at tears running down his cheeks. "I wish that I had the power to change what I have done... what I've become." 

Wind blew through the trees and scattered a few dried leaves, left behind from fall, across the ground. Skinner didn't feel the cold wind. 

He touched the granite tombstone and caressed her name. "I'll look after Mulder for you. I know that you loved each other...." 

He closed his eyes and broke down weeping. 

"You should let her go, Skinner. You weren't responsible for her death," Vagon said as he stepped out from between a grove of trees. 

"I killed her even if it was my sire's trickery that made me do it." Skinner looked up at the Nosferatu. "I can still taste her blood on my tongue and hear her thoughts inside my head." 

"Phantom memories. Let them go, Skinner. Embrace your Kindred nature. Free yourself from the shackles of your former human life." 

"Sirius said it was important to hold onto my humanity." 

"You can hold onto your humanity without wallowing in human emotions like guilt and self pity." Vagon looked down at the grave. "She's in a better place now, or so I've been told. Us Kindred will never be allowed into heaven...." He frowned and headed back into the trees. 

Skinner watched Vagon until he disappeared, blending into the dark foliage. Then he turned back to the grave and said a prayer before standing and heading in the direction of where a taxicab was waiting for him. His long overcoat flapping out behind him as the wind picked up. 

* * *

DC General Hospital  
Wednesday, March 3, 1999  
3:00 p.m. 

It was two days before Krycek regained consciousness. When he did, he found himself in a hospital bed with an IV in his arm and the discomfort of a catheter in his urethra. He didn't remember what happened at first, until he felt the pain and numbness coming from his backside. It felt like his anus and rectum was stuffed with cotton, and it hurt like a bitch. 

"You're awake," a nurse said, "Hold on I'll get the doctor." 

Krycek had a moment to contemplate what had happened to him while the nurse was gone. For some reason the palm pilot hadn't worked. Skinner seemed to be unusually strong and he'd never seen the man so pissed off. Even the night Krycek had spent on Skinner's balcony he hadn't been in fear of his life, as he had been this time. He trembled at the thought of going anywhere near Skinner again, although he did want to put a bullet through that bald head. 

"Mr. Smith, I'm Doctor Nancy Davis. How are you feeling?" 

"It hurts," Krycek said as he looked up at the petite redheaded Doctor. She rather reminded him of Scully. 

"It's going to be sore for a while. It took fifty stitches to repair the damage to your rectum and anus. You lost a lot of blood and are lucky to be alive... it was touch and go there for a while. I currently have you on a strong regiment of antibiotics to prevent infection. You should make a full recovery." 

Krycek frowned; he knew that he had been badly hurt... just another to add to his long list of injuries. 

"The police want to know who did this to you, and are going to be sending a detective to talk to you as soon as you're up for it." 

"Not tonight," Krycek said as he closed his eyes. All that he wanted to do was sleep and think of a way he could get out of the hospital before the police or his enemies realize that his ID was fake. 

"I'll have the nurse administer some more Demerol into your IV line. That will help you sleep." 

* * *

Skinner's apartment  
Wednesday, March 3, 1999  
7:00 p.m. 

Skinner sat in the back of the limousine as it drove into the parking lot next to his apartment building. He smiled when he saw his Lexus. The Lexus dealership had dropped it off this afternoon, so he would no longer need James to drive him to, and from work, which would be a welcome change. Sirius wanted him to stop out at the estate to continue his education this weekend. His sire was confident that Skinner should be able to handle himself against another vampire, but Sirius cautioned Skinner to stay away from vampire hangouts. He wasn't anywhere near ready to defend himself against more than one vampire. 

Yesterday afternoon, Skinner had found an art restorer in the yellow pages. The woman said she'd be able to fix the painting. That was a great relief to him, and it softened his heart toward Krycek. He now regretted what he had done. 

After he finished talking to the art restorer, he did a search to find out what hospital Krycek had been taken to and if he was still alive. Skinner had been able to track him by police and ambulance records. Krycek of course was using an alias; his driver's license said that he was a Victor Smith. 

"James, as a ghoul are you ever sick or injured?" Skinner asked. 

"No. My master's blood heals any illness or injury," James said. 

"If I wanted to change someone who was seriously injured into a ghoul, would that heal his injuries?" 

"It should." 

"This person happens to hate me. Would becoming my ghoul make him my obedient servant?" 

"Ghouls have very little freewill when it comes to our master. We serve our masters without question, with total devotion." 

Skinner smiled. This sounded like the perfect solution to his rat problem. He'd be able to control Krycek to do his bidding for once. "Thank you, James," Skinner said as he opened the car door and climbed out. 

He'd drive over to the hospital later this evening. 

* * *

Minneapolis  
Wednesday, March 3, 1999  
11:00 p.m. 

"Hey, Fox," Doggett said into the telephone receiver as he lay in bed, under several layers of blankets, dressed in flannel boxers, sweatpants, an undershirt, and socks. He was too wound up to sleep and hoped talking to his lover would help him unwind. 

"Hi, slugger. How's the Twin Cities?" 

"Colder than a witch's tit. God, Fox, it's two degrees below zero, and I'm seriously missing your warm body." Doggett pulled the blankets up under his chin. He had the heater in the room up full blast, but it didn't seem to be putting off enough heat. The tip of his nose and ears felt cold. 

"I wish I could be there with you. How's the case going?" 

"Good. We've made several arrests and are going through the groups' records to track the missing children. Mrs. Holland kept detailed paperwork on the sale and trade of these kids." 

Mulder sighed, "It's hard to believe our society has such sick individuals." 

Doggett frowned. "They're perverted bastards and should be locked up for the rest of their lives! We're being extra careful with this case, we wouldn't want them to get off because of some fucking technicality." 

"How are you holding up?" 

"Just talk to me, Fox." Doggett felt the tension slowly leave his body while he listened to Mulder's whiskey smoothed voice. "How's things back in D.C.?" 

"I told you Monday night that Skinner was back, and that I thought he had cosmetic surgery." 

"Yeah and?" 

"Well I think gossip about his facelift has surpassed the gossip going around about Scully, Diana, and me." 

"I can't imagine ever getting a facelift. There are just some things men don't do." 

"He does look really good though." 

Doggett chuckled. "You can look, Fox, but don't touch." 

"Skinner would probably hurt me if I tried." 

"He's not the only one." 

"Hey, I got an invitation to attend a Rainer Society forum tomorrow night." 

"That's a pretty exclusive club. Congratulations." 

"I'm pretty excited about going. The Rainer estate has some buildings on its land dating back to the 1700s. I hope I am allowed to look around." 

They continued to chat for over an hour before finally saying goodnight. 

* * *

DC General Hospital  
Thursday, March 4, 1999  
1:00 a.m. 

Krycek was startled awake by a voice inside his skull. He gasped with fear when he opened his eyes and saw Skinner hovering beside his hospital bed. He glanced around frantically looking for a way to escape, certain that Skinner was there to finish the job. 

The room was dark only the electric light from the monitoring equipment cast any light in the room. 

Skinner smirked. "I'm not going to kill you so relax." 

"What do you want?" 

"You." 

"Fuck off, Skinner." 

"You're going to have to learn some manners if you want to serve me." 

"Serve you? Are you off your rocker, old man?" Krycek growled, although old was far from what Skinner looked currently. 

"Not in the slightest." 

Krycek gasped as fangs slipped out from Skinner's gums and the man's eyes glowed in the darkened room. Krycek found that he was unable to make a sound or move as Skinner lifted his arm and bit into his wrist. After several heart-pounding moments, Skinner let go of his wrist and let it drop back to the mattress. He then bit into his own wrist and forced it into Krycek's mouth. 

Krycek struggled as Skinner's blood filled his mouth. He tried not to swallow until a whispered command, "Drink," had him sucking on Skinner's wrist with abandon, swallowing his blood. A strange sensation came over him... he felt like an infant feeding at his mother's tit, and like an infant he suddenly felt a pure sense of love for the man nourishing him. 

Skinner pulled his wrist free. Krycek made a faint mewing sound and tried to grab it back. "You'll get more if you serve me well, Alex," Skinner said. 

Krycek discovered that he was no longer in pain. He watched as Skinner placed a duffel bag on the bed and opened it. Skinner pulled out a pair of old sweatpants, socks, slippers, and a flannel shirt. 

"Get dressed," Skinner growled and walked over to the tiny closet. He retrieved Krycek's prosthetic arm and leather jacket. 

Krycek felt strange and disoriented as he tugged the catheter out of his penis, then pulled the IV out of his arm using his teeth, not paying attention to the blood that welled up at the puncture wound and ran down his arm. He kept glancing at Skinner... he'd never noticed how good-looking the man was until now. Mulder had always been his type. 

Skinner shook his head and took hold of Krycek's arm. He licked over the puncture mark. The bleeding stopped as the needle mark disappeared. He let go of Krycek and went to watch the door while Krycek continued to dress. Not that Skinner expected them to be disturbed. 

"Hurry up we need to leave before the next shift comes on." 

"What about the hospital staff?" Krycek asked. 

"They won't bother us." 

"What do you mean? We can't just walk out of here." Krycek couldn't explain why he suddenly wanted to leave the hospital with Skinner. 

"Yes, we can. Are you ready?" 

Krycek nodded and followed Skinner out of the room. They walked down the hall right past the nurse's station. The nurse on duty smiled at Skinner, but didn't seem to notice Krycek. Krycek moved awkwardly, he still had cotton filling his rectum. 

* * *

Crystal City  
Skinner's apartment  
Thursday, March 4, 1999  
3:00 a.m. 

Krycek stood in the middle of Skinner's living room and looked around. The sofa was gone and there was nothing in its place. He felt guilty over the damage he'd done. He shifted his legs, the cotton packed up his rectum was becoming uncomfortable and he wanted to remove it but he was too afraid of upsetting Skinner by speaking. He knew all too well how to play the part of a servant; he'd done it before, so he knew that it was best to remain silent until spoken to. Krycek couldn't explain the sudden attraction he felt for Skinner, or why he wanted to please him, not that it seemed too important to him to find an explanation. 

"Is there something wrong, Alex?" 

"I'm sorry I trashed your place and about the nanocytes." 

"Go on. I can tell you have questions." 

"Why have you brought me here?" 

"You are here to serve me. For serving me loyally you will be rewarded." 

"What is my reward?" Krycek asked while feeling that serving Skinner would be reward enough. 

"Eternal life, superior strength, and carnal pleasure." 

"What are you? How did you heal me?" 

"I'm Kindred, and you're my ghoul." 

"Ghoul? I don't understand what you mean." 

Skinner walked over to him and caressed the side of his face. Krycek turned his face into the caress as arousal surged through his body at being this close to Skinner. 

"You've drunk my blood. You will need continuous feedings in order to survive. As a ghoul only vampire blood will allow you to live forever." Skinner leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. "You're mine, Alex." 

"Yes." Krycek opened his mouth to Skinner as the other man claimed more of him than just his blood. 

* * *

Hoover Building  
Thursday, March 4, 1999  
1:00 p.m. 

Skinner just returned from a meeting at the State Department. Unfortunately he'd had to park his car several blocks away and walk. In the process, he had dispensed too much blood energy protecting himself from the sun during the walk that now he desperately needed to feed. The back of his head had burned when he rushed the final few steps into the building. If he had planned, Skinner would have had Krycek drive him. Although he really didn't want Krycek anywhere near the Hoover building. 

So instead of heading up to his office Skinner took the elevator down to the basement. He needed to quench his hunger and heal the charred flesh on the back of his scalp. If he used his powers, Mulder would never know. To be honest, Skinner could have called Krycek, but he wanted Mulder. He'd been dying to taste him since Monday, and with the back of his head burned, he didn't dare go up to his office. 

Mulder sat at the old wooden desk. He wore his glasses as he went over a stack of case folders and looked so damn sexy it made Skinner all the more hungry but not just for blood. 

Mulder looked up when Skinner walked into the office and closed the door. "Sir, what can I do for you?" 

Skinner made sure that Mulder didn't catch a glimpse of his burned scalp. "I was just at a meeting at the State Department, and thought I'd stop down before I head up to my office. Have you found an X-File to investigate yet?" 

"No. I'm still going through all of the cases that Agent Spender sat on during his time on the X-Files. Some have resolved themselves, others I wouldn't classify as X-Files... there are a few with possibilities." 

"Mulder, I want to assign a partner to work with you before you go out in the field." Skinner had thought long and hard, and he didn't want Mulder to go out in the field without someone watching his back. His cases were just too dangerous. 

Mulder took his glasses off and set them on his desk. "Sir, I don't need or want a partner. The last one you assigned to work with me was Krycek, and that didn't work out very well now did it?" 

"Don't argue with me, Agent." Skinner leveled Mulder was a stare that brokered no argument. 

Mulder stared into Skinner's eyes and nodded. 

"Come here," Skinner commanded. 

Mulder rose with a blank expression upon his face and walked around the desk until he gazed deeply into Skinner's mesmerizing eyes. 

Skinner kissed him tenderly then moved his mouth down to the soft flesh of Mulder's throat. Mulder's moan of pleasure sent a shiver down Skinner's spine. As he fed, Skinner was able to read Mulder's thoughts and memories. What he discovered rocked him to his very core. He had always assumed that Mulder was straight and unattainable. Never in his wildest dreams did it ever occur to him that Mulder might be bisexual. To find out that Mulder had been doing the wild one with Agent John Doggett was unbelievable. 

He licked over the bite mark and watched it heal. Mulder had tasted delicious. He smelled so sweet. Skinner wanted to do this again. He made sure his overcoat concealed his arousal before he ordered, "Mulder, you will sit back at your desk and forget everything from the point I asked you to come to me." 

Once Mulder was seated his expression changed and he looked up at Skinner with fire in his eyes. "Sir, at least let me have the Gunmen run a background check on whoever you want to assign as my partner." 

"Okay, Mulder, that sounds fair enough." Skinner turned and walked out of the office. There was no longer any sign that the back of his head had been burned. 

The first thing Skinner planned to do when he got back to his office was have Agent Doggett assigned to the X-Files. Skinner might be sexually attracted to Mulder, but his Agent's health and safety were far more important to him than his desire. This John Doggett had an outstanding record, and was a top-notched agent. He was a perfect candidate to watch Mulder's back and provide a balance to their X-File investigations. It didn't hurt that they both already trusted each other. He was going to love to see Mulder's expression when his agent found out whom his new partner was. 

A smile spread across Skinner's lips, he had the perfect case sitting on his desk for them. 

* * *

Rainer Estate  
Thursday, March 4, 1999  
8:00 p.m. 

Mulder parked his Ford Taurus next to the expensive BMWs, Lexuses, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benz and other luxury cars in the small parking lot on the estate... he smiled when he noticed an old, brightly painted Volkswagen beetle that had been painted to look like a Mr. Yuck face. At least his car wasn't the least expensive. A purple haired woman with green lipstick climbed out of the beetle and struggled with a dozen books. Mulder hurried over to her. 

"Let me give you a hand," he offered and reached for some of the books that threatened to topple. 

"I already have two hands. I don't really need another, but you may help me carry my books," Durante said. 

"I'm Fox Mulder," Mulder said as he took eight books from her stack leaving her to carry four. 

"Most foxes that I've seen looked nothing like you." 

"You can blame my mom." 

They headed for the main building while Mulder looked around at the clusters of different buildings on the estate. They were walking on a stone road, similar to what one would see in some European towns. "What is your name?" he finally asked after the woman didn't offer one. 

"Sheila Durante, but you may call me Durante." 

They walked up the steps and entered the building. Around a dozen men and women milled around in the foyer, talking and sipping glasses of dark red wine. A tall handsome blonde walked over to them. "Durante, do you want to introduce your handsome companion?" 

"Who?" 

"The man standing next to you carrying a stack of books." 

"Don't be silly he's not a man, he's a fox," Durante said and headed off down one of the hallways that led off the foyer. 

Mulder sighed. "I'm Fox Mulder, I met Miss Durante out in the parking lot." 

"And you gallantly offered to carry her books," the blonde said with a smile. "Boris, take the books from Agent Mulder." 

A large man came over to them and relieved Mulder of his heavy load. Once Mulder's hands were free the blonde held out his hand and they shook. 

"I'm Damien Rainer, I'm happy you accepted my invitation to join us tonight." 

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The invitation said it was a forum on the paranormal. That seems to be a very broad category." 

"We're going to be discussing a broad range of topics. Your insights from working on the X-Files will greatly enhance the discussion." Damien signaled for one of the servants carrying a tray with several wineglasses. He selected two and handed one to Mulder. "How did you become interested in the paranormal, Agent Mulder?" 

"Thank you," Mulder said as he accepted the wine. "Just Mulder." Normally he wouldn't go into details about his personal life with a stranger but for some reason that he couldn't explain this man made him want to open up like a well read book. "When I was twelve my sister was abducted by aliens and you could say that spurred my interest." He glanced up as he spoke. Over the foyer, several floors up, was a large stained glass window, but he was unable to make out the image. Maybe if he came back in the daytime when the sun was shining. 

"So you really believe in aliens?" Damien asked. "Have you come across any evidence to back up your belief?" 

"Yes, quite a bit of evidence but nothing solid that would convince the public. I seem to have a hard time hanging onto physical evidence, usually it is stolen, or the government seizes it. I have enough evidence to convince myself that aliens exist. I've even been on board an alien spaceship that was buried under the ice in Antarctica." Mulder noticed that the other people in the foyer had gathered around to listen to their conversation. 

"What do the aliens want with Earth?" a pretty woman with long black hair and olive skin asked. 

"They want this planet for colonization." 

Damien interrupted. "I'm sorry, where are my manners. Mulder, I'd like you to meet Rozina Soares, Sirius Tampir, Marcus Lager...." He continued to introduce Mulder to the other ten members. 

Mulder had no idea that he was being introduced to a room full of vampires or that his wineglass was the only one that held one hundred percent wine. 

"So why haven't they attacked?" Sirius asked. Although he already knew most of the story from Walter, he wanted his fellow Kindred to learn about the threat directly from this kine. 

Mulder looked cautiously around at the men and women, and tried to gage their level of belief. Speaking the truth, even in the face of ridicule, had never stopped him before. "The aliens want to produce a slave race of alien-human hybrids to serve them. As soon as they are successful at producing a hybrid then they will change the abductees into hybrids and start the process to eliminate humans from Earth by using a deadly virus that will be carried by bees to all corners of the planet." 

Lager frowned. He didn't like anything that threatened his food source. "How can these aliens be destroyed?" 

"I don't know. I do know that a vaccination has been developed to counter the alien virus. The people that produced it are also working with the aliens on their hybrid experiments." 

"These aliens must not succeed! How do we find and destroy them?" Lager growled. 

"If I knew that, then I'd have the proof to take to the public," Mulder said. 

Damien placed a hand at the small of Mulder's back. "Let's move this discussion into the meeting room." As they walked down the small hall and entered a room filled with comfortable chairs and sofas, Damien asked, "So do you believe in werewolves, vampires, or mermaids?" 

"I'm pretty open-minded, although I can say I've never met a mermaid." 

"So are you saying that you've met werewolves or vampires?" Sirius asked. 

Mulder shrugged his shoulders as he looked around. The room was filled with ancient artifacts and paintings. "It depends on what your definitions are of werewolves and vampires," he said. 

"Please enlighten us on your definition, Mulder," Damien said as he guided Mulder over to a loveseat and they sat side-by-side. The Tremere was having a difficult time hiding his attraction to the kine. 

"I've only had one case that dealt with werewolves or as the Trego indians called them manitou. The case involved a young rancher's son who was infected by a Trego brave that was manitou. The spirit had moved from the brave to the rancher's son after the brave had been killed. The rancher's son eventually was killed by the Sheriff, only after he had killed his own father." 

"It sounds like your typical werewolf," Lager said. 

"What about vampires?" Rozina asked. 

Everyone looked at Mulder. 

Mulder felt suddenly uncomfortable and answered cautiously, "Two totally different cases. Nothing that could prove their existence one way or another." 

"But you believe?" Damien pressed. 

"I believe in all sorts of things. I like to keep an open mind." 

They went from there to discussing ghosts and telekinesis, the conversation eventually returned to aliens and Mulder spent the final two hours talking about everything he knew about the conspiracy from human experimentation carried out by rogue elements in the government and military, to clones, and alien morphs. Normally he wouldn't have gone into that much detail but he felt compelled to tell these people everything he knew or maybe the wine that loosened his tongue. It was two o'clock in the morning by the time the forum ended. 

* * *

"Well, what do you think?" Sirius asked after Mulder had departed. 

"I'm going to embrace him," Damien said. 

"My childe is not going to be happy." 

"Your childe will have to learn to live with it." 

"Mulder seems closer to a Brujah than a Tremere, maybe I should embrace him," Lager said. 

"No. The young fox is clearly Malkavian," Durante said. She had joined them in the meeting room while Mulder was discussing the conspiracy. 

"Keep your hands off him, Durante, he's mine," Damien growled. 

"He'd make a fitting Tremere," Vagon the Nosferatu said as he melted out of the corner. He had listened to the entire discussion this evening. "This one's blood isn't completely human, much like the Tremere aren't completely Kindred." 

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked. 

"His scent... there was something alien about it. If you weren't so blinded by his looks you might have detected it," Vagon said. 

"Then it is decided. He will become my childe," Damien said as he dismissed the Nosferatu's claims that Mulder wasn't completely human. 

* * *

Hoover Building  
Friday, March 5, 1999  
1:00 p.m. 

Doggett had caught the redeye back to D.C. from the Twin Cities. He made it home at five o'clock in the morning and went straight to bed to grab a few hours of sleep before heading into the bureau. 

When he arrived at the bureau at noon he had a message on his voice mail to stop down and see A.D. Walter Skinner as soon as possible. Doggett couldn't imagine what the A.D. wanted with him. So now he sat waiting in Skinner's outer office. 

"Would you like some coffee, Agent Doggett?" Kim asked. 

"Uh, no, thank you." 

The door to Skinner's office opened and A.D. Kersh stepped out, followed by A.D. Cassidy. 

Kersh gave Doggett a curt nod while Cassidy smiled at him and then they headed out the door. 

"Agent Doggett, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Skinner said and motioned him into the office. 

Once Doggett entered the office, Skinner closed the door behind him. "Please have a seat, Agent." 

Skinner walked back around his desk and sat. He picked up a folder that was sitting on his desk. "These are your transfer papers," he said and passed Doggett the folder. 

Doggett became concerned. He didn't want to be transferred away from D.C., and why was A.D. Skinner the one to inform him and not his Section Chief? He opened the folder, glanced over the attached forms, and breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered his transfer was out of Criminal Investigations, he was being placed under A.D. Skinner. More specifically, he was being assigned to one specific department under Skinner. "I'm being assigned to the X-Files?" 

"Yes. Agent Mulder is without a partner as I'm sure you're aware, and the X-Files can be extremely dangerous work. I want him to have a competent partner before going out in the field. I was impressed by reports I received about how you handled the investigation into Scully's disappearance. It was mentioned that you had worked well with Agent Mulder so I requested that you be transferred to my organization." 

"Thank you, sir. Does Agent Mulder know?" 

"No. I wanted to talk to you first in case you had any major objections to working on the X-Files." 

"Sir, I have no objections. I'm not sure how Agent Mulder will feel, since we don't see eye-to-eye on the existence of aliens or things that go bump in the night." Doggett knew how dangerous the X-Files were and had been worried about his lover working alone. He appreciated this opportunity to work with Fox. 

"That's why you're the perfect candidate for this assignment. You'll provide objectivity and balance to Mulder's wild theories and intuitive leaps." 

Skinner pressed the intercom button on his telephone. "Kim, can you ask Agent Mulder to come up to my office?" 

* * *

Mulder hurried up to Skinner's office. He had been hoping to get off early today and head over to John's. Four days without seeing his lover felt excessively long. 

"Hi, Kim," he said as he strolled in to Skinner's outer office. 

"Go right in, Agent Mulder." 

As he entered the office, Mulder stopped in his tracks when his eyes fell on John sitting in front of Skinner's desk. His first thought was that Skinner had found out about them. 

"Agent Mulder, I've just assigned Agent Doggett to the X-Files." 

"You did?" 

"I did." Skinner kept a straight face but on the inside he was smiling at Mulder's expression. "And I have the first case I'd like you to work on together." 

Mulder walked over and sat on the chair next to his lover. He looked at Doggett for any indication of how he felt about being assigned to the X-Files and possibly the end to his rise up the ladder. Doggett only shrugged and kept his attention focused on Skinner. 

"I received a request from the Arcadia police department in San Diego County, California. They've had three separate incidents since 1991 of couples vanishing without a trace from The Falls a gated community. The couples were all professional people with no history of violence, mental illness, or illegal activity. David and Nancy Kline were the last couple to disappear. That was last July. The neighbors have claimed total ignorance regarding the disappearances." 

"So the neighbors aren't particularly social with each other," Doggett said. 

"Or they are covering up the murders of their neighbors," Mulder said. 

"The bureau has arranged for the temporary lease of the Kline's old house in The Falls community. They've also arranged with a moving company to move you both into the house on Monday. You'll be posing as a gay couple. Do you have any questions?" 

Mulder and Doggett exchanged startled glances. 

Doggett looked back at Skinner. "You did say Southern California, sir?" 

"Yes, Agent Doggett." 

Doggett turned to Mulder. "Agent Mulder, we probably should fly down tomorrow and check the place over before we move into the house on Monday." 

Mulder wasn't sure if the twinkle in John's eye was because he was going to sunny California or that they were going together. "I'll pack the sunscreen." 

Skinner cleared his throat to get their attention. "Kim will arrange your flight for tomorrow morning and make hotel reservations for you. If there is nothing else, all the details about the case are in the file." He handed Mulder the thick folder. 

"Thank you, sir." Mulder stood and glanced at Doggett who also stood to leave. "Agent Doggett, would you like to go over the case with me in the basement?" he asked as they headed out of Skinner's office. 

"I have a better idea, Agent Mulder. Why don't we go over it during dinner at Mario's?" 

Skinner listened to them for as long as he could hear them. He felt a sense of envy over their closeness. 

* * *

Tampir Estate  
Saturday, March 6, 1999  
4:00 a.m. 

Sirius walked around Krycek and looked him over, then turned to Skinner and commented, "Childe, you should have chosen a whole human if you wanted a ghoul." 

Krycek's eyes narrowed over the slender vampire's appraisal of him. 

"Sire, he functions extremely well with only one arm." 

Sirius looked sternly at Skinner. "I think you were after revenge over the way he treated you when you were still human. That was no reason to give this kine the gift of blood." 

"I've had my revenge, but I did not want to kill him. This seemed like the best alternative. I had need of someone who could move freely around in the daylight and protect my home while I sleep." 

"Well, he's certainly pretty enough," Sirius conceded. "Still, if you grow tired of him, you can always kill him or give him to Rozina for her brothel." 

Skinner frowned. He no longer had any desire to kill Krycek. "Sire, Alex has talents that I require." 

"Fine, keep him." Sirius walked over and poured himself a drink. He enjoyed the burn and affect alcohol had on him. He could get the same affect by drinking from a drunken kine. But he preferred drinking alcohol straight, even if he would have to regurgitate it later. When he had the cognac in his hand he turned back to face Skinner. "I met your Fox Mulder. He's a beautiful and a fascinating kine, I can see why you're in love with him." 

"When and where did you meet him?" Skinner couldn't hide his irritation. 

Sirius smiled. "At the Rainer estate, during a private party." 

"What was Mulder doing there?" 

"He was invited to attend by the Prince. Prince Damien has taken quite the fancy to him and has decided to embrace him." 

Neither vampire noticed the tightening of Krycek's jaw or the angry daggers his eyes shot at Sirius. 

"No! Mulder would not make a good vampire, let alone a Tremere!" Skinner growled. 

Sirius remained calm and slightly amused by his childe's anger. He knew all about Mulder from reading his childe's mind. "He'd make a perfect Tremere. They will provide him with structure and discipline that the other clans cannot. Or do you want to see him embraced by a Malkavian?" 

"If Mulder has to be embraced then I want to embrace him." 

Sirius chuckled. "Childe, unless you get the Prince's permission, anyone you embrace will meet their final death quite quickly." 

Skinner knew that already, and the last thing he wanted was Mulder to die. "Can't you convince the Prince not to embrace him?" 

"Prince Damien is attracted to him. I doubt that I could sway him, even if I wanted to. Besides we need Mulder's help against these aliens. It would be easier for us to obtain his help if he were one of us." 

"When does the Prince plan to embrace him?" Skinner asked, feeling frustrated and powerless. Maybe he could transfer Mulder to the West Coast or Alaska, far enough from D.C. that the Prince wouldn't bother him. 

"Prince Damien has to travel to Vienna first and meet with his clans seven elders. Unlike us Ventrue, the Tremere are an extremely structured clan. After Fox Mulder is embraced he will be required to drink the blood of the Tremere's seven elders. They do this to bind the neonate Tremere to their clan's elders." 

"I hope the Prince doesn't force Mulder to kill any of his friends, like you did to me," Skinner said. 

"You're still not over that? Really, Childe, you shouldn't still be having such strong feelings for these kine. They are our food source and nothing more." 

"If that were the case then why did you embrace me? Wasn't I just a kine? Why does the Prince want Mulder?" 

"In order for our species to continue, we need to embrace the occasional kine. You, Walter, possessed many traits that encompassed a true Ventrue. It was only natural for me to embrace you. The Prince sees in Mulder his potential as a Tremere." 

Sirius turned back to face Krycek. "May I?" he asked Skinner. 

"All I possess is yours," Skinner said. 

Sirius grabbed Krycek's wrist and held it over the half-full glass of cognac. He used a sharp nail to open a vein and watched as a stream of blood flowed into his glass, mixing with the cognac. 

After his sire's glass was full, Skinner took a hold of Krycek's wrist. He brought it up to his mouth and drank deeply before finally healing the gash with a swipe of his tongue. The contact and blood caused his cock to swell. He pushed Krycek to his knees and unzipped. "Eat me, boy," he growled. 

Krycek obediently took the large organ into his mouth and proceeded to give his master a thorough blowjob. 

Skinner's fingers twisted through the silky strands of sable hair as he pumped his cock in and out of the Krycek's mouth without any concern over the show he was putting on for his sire. 

Krycek made moaning sounds of pleasure as his sucked and swallowed the thick shaft while Skinner increased the speed and force of his thrusts. 

Sirius looked on with amusement. He took a certain amount of pleasure seeing his childe enjoying himself. After Skinner slammed his cock down Krycek's throat and came with a roar, Sirius chuckled. "Now I know what you meant about this kine having special talents that you needed." 

* * *

Arcadia  
Monday, March 8, 1999  
4:00 p.m. 

Mulder and Doggett climbed out of the van in front of their new Arcadia home. 

"Wow. Look at this place, huggy bear, what do you think? Is this us or what?" Mulder asked, grinning from ear-to-ear. 

Doggett smiled tolerantly as they walked up to a woman standing in front of their house holding a large basket. He should have known that Fox would play this gay partner assignment to the hilt. While Fox might not want them to come out of the closet at work just yet, his lover had no trouble displaying his affection for him in public outside of the FBI. 

"You must be our new neighbors. Hi. Welcome, to The Falls," the woman said and handed Doggett the huge basket. She giggled nervously as she glanced between the two of them. 

Mulder shook her hand. "Hi. I'm Dave Starsky and my handsome partner is Ken Hutchingson." 

The woman's eyebrow raised. "Starsky and Hutch?" 

"Dave and Ken," Doggett said as he looked disapprovingly at his lover. 

"Well, it is nice to meet you. I'm Pat Verlander. I live six doors down. I'm the neighborhood welcome wagon." 

"Please to meet you, Pat," Doggett said. 

Verlander looked around and glanced at her watch. "I really must say, it's already ten after five o'clock. I don't think you're going to make it." 

"What do you mean?" Doggett asked. 

"The six o'clock cut off. All move-ins are required to be completed by six p.m. It's in the CC&Rs. It's one of our rules." 

They entered the house as they talked. Mulder and Doggett walked into the living room while Verlander remained by the door. 

"Wow. The photos did not do it justice," Mulder said while a bunch of neighbors gathered outside and started to unload the moving truck. 

Pat Verlander snarled quietly at the neighbors from the doorway, "Guys, fast, fast now. Come on." 

"The previous owners left it so clean," Mulder said as he and Doggett looked around the house. 

"What do you both do for a living?" Verlander asked. 

Mulder, with a big grin on his face, put an arm around Doggett's shoulders and hugged him. "We, uh... we work mostly at home which is great for Ken and me because we get to be with each other all the time." 

"Th-that's sweet. Um... Good," Verdlander said. 

The other neighbors continued to frantically unload the truck, desperate to beat the six o'clock deadline. Mulder and Doggett walked back outside. 

Another neighbor came up to them. "Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson?" 

"I'm Starsky, he's Hutch," Mulder said, pointing at Doggett. 

Doggett gave Mulder an exasperated look. 

"Win Shroeder, next-door neighbor. Welcome home." 

"Hi, Win. Nice to meet you," Mulder said. 

"Now, don't you folks worry. We'll have you moved in before six," Shroeder said. 

Mulder and Doggett exchanged puzzled glances. 

The mover wheeled out a portable basketball hoop. "Where does this go?" he asked. 

"Uh, you can put that in the driveway," Mulder said. 

Shroeder rushed over to them. "Whoa, whoa! Hold on, hold on. Let's... let's talk. Um... A b-ball fan, huh? Shooting hoops-that's, um, that's not good. That's going to stand out in your front yard over there." 

"Stand out, Win?" Mulder said. 

"Well, as in, uh... not being aesthetically pleasing... to the eye. But, hey, you know, maybe you can get special dispensation from Mr. Gogolak, president of our Homeowner's Association. I'd take it up with him but in the meantime, um... let's keep that in the garage." Shroeder chuckled nervously. 

Mulder sighed, and turned to the mover. "Just... put it in the garage." 

Shroeder looked relieved. "Okay. Let's finish getting you folks moved in. Let's go, people! Let's move! Move!" 

At 5:59, Mulder and Doggett stood in the driveway with their arms around each other and watched the moving truck pull away from the house. 

"Oh, yeah. Nothing weird going on around here," Mulder said. 

"You ready?" 

"Let's get it on, slugger." 

"All right then." Doggett pulled latex gloves out of the box and handed a pair to Mulder. 

"This place is so clean I doubt that we'll find anything," Mulder said, taking gloves and snapping them on while Doggett started to record the scene using a small video camera. 

Mulder looked seductively into the video camera. "You want to make the porn video now?" 

Doggett turned off the camera while Mulder hopped up on the kitchen counter. "Starsky and Hutch, Fox?" 

Mulder shrugged. 

"Next time we go undercover I get to choose the names." 

"Fine." 

"You're not taking this seriously," Doggett accused. 

"I'm taking it seriously. I just don't know why Skinner gave it to us. It's our first case together on the X-Files and this isn't even an X-File." 

"Sure it is, Fox. It's unexplained. Not everything is about aliens or big foot." 

"You just want to play house," Mulder said as he wrapped his arms and legs around Doggett and kissed him. 

"With you, of course I do. Now get your ass off the counter and make me a sandwich," Doggett growled. 

Mulder chuckled as he hopped off the counter. "You're such a Neanderthal." 

Doggett smiled and hugged him tightly. "God, I love you." 

Mulder pulled back. "John, did you just say that you loved me?" 

Doggett stiffened defensively. "Um... yeah, so?" 

Mulder tackled him to the floor and straddled his thighs. "The feeling is mutual!" He proceeded to ravage John, starting with his mouth. 

* * *

Crystal City  
Viva Towers  
Tuesday, March 9, 1999  
1:00 a.m. 

The faint glow of moonlight illuminated Skinner's nude muscular body as he stood out on his balcony, looking up at the moon. He needed to clear his mind. The thoughts and feelings he was experiencing worried him. When the moon took on Mulder's face, Skinner squeezed his eyes closed. The craving he felt for his subordinate went deeper than the desire for his blood. Skinner longed to hold him... kiss him... make love to him. The only way he could have Mulder, in his mind, was by using his dominate powers, but that wasn't the way he wanted Mulder. He wanted Mulder as a willing lover, not as some hypnotized drone. 

He turned and glanced through the patio door into the living room. Krycek was sleeping curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace. The firelight kissed the beautiful curves of his naked body. Skinner could see the dark bruises on the man's pale hips where his fingers had dug in while he was fucking Krycek. He knew he was taking out his aggression and frustration on Krycek, over his unrequited feelings for Mulder. 

Skinner gazed back up at the moon. His fantasies about Mulder had intensified since he'd stolen some of Mulder's blood in the X-File's basement office. It was a real dilemma for Skinner. As long as Mulder was with Doggett, he couldn't even attempt to seduce him. Nor could he eliminate the competition by transferring Doggett elsewhere in the country, he needed Doggett as Mulder's partner to protect his back. Finally there was Prince Damien. He would have to warn Mulder to stay away from him. Maybe if Mulder stayed away, the Prince would give up on the idea of embracing him. 

At least Mulder was still on the case in California. He had time to plan his next moves. 

* * *

End of Chapter 3 - Ghoul  
Coming soon Chapter 4 - Brujah   
  

If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Jo B


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